Beyond « human bodies in flight». The challenge of providing an existential project in Sprar caseworkers’ practices in Bologna
Marta Salinaro
This article investigates the role of social workers in the Italian reception system of asylum seekers and refugees (Sprar) from a pedagogical perspective. Drawing from 19 interviews with caseworkers from a social cooperative in Bologna (2017) and from a review of pedagogical literature, this article highlights the gap between institutional guidelines and practices on the ground.
The following in-depth analysis reflects on the professional identity of the case worker and on their perceived need to find in their role and in their daily practices a wider «social mandate» aimed at overcoming an emergency approach and moving towards social inclusion. In line with Sprar institutional objectives, the purpose of this study is to focus on relational dynamics, which represent a central node of social work: these should be based on the pedagogical skills necessary to accompany the asylum seeker in the construction of a new life project. Moving within a complex network of numerous players – the beneficiaries of the project, the team, public agencies and local services – it is possible to see how the role and skills of the case worker must be defined and explored to stimulate new awareness in the practices and the objectives of reception services for asylum seekers and refugees.
Keywords
reception system; existential project; social inclusion; pedagogical skills.
